Fall-rope-supporting device.



No. 7lfi,45 7. Patented Dec. 23, 1902.

T. s. MILLER. FALL ROPE SUPPORTING DEVICE.

(Application filed Apr. 2, 1901. (No Model.

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. J i I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS SPENCER MILLER, OF SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

FALL-ROPE-SUPPORTING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 716,457, dated December 23, 1902.

Application filed April 2, 1901.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS SPENCER MIL- LER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of South Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Fall-Rope-Supporting Device, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in ropeways by which tension maybe produced on the fall-rope at the carriage, so that the fall-rope may be supported and paid out without using fall-rope carriers.

My invention comprises the novel features which willhereinafter be described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 shows in elevation a rope-way arranged in accordance with my present invention; and Figs. 2 and 3 are cross-section and elevation of the pulleys or sheaves carried by the carriage, by means of which the desired result is attained.

The principal object in the use of fall-rope carriers is to support the fall-rope, so that the fall-block may be readily lowered when the carriage is at a considerable distance from the head-support. Without some means of either supporting that portion of the fallrope extending between the carriage and the head-support or of applying tension to the fall-rope to draw it out and lower the fallblock the sag in the fall-rope between the carriage and the head-support when this distance becomes considerable would be so great that the fall-block could not be lowered.

My present invention consists in applying tension to the fall-rope at the carriage by means of an endless rope and mechanism which includes a friction device for connecting the ropes at the carriage.

The ropeway, as shown in Fig. 1, comprises three ropes--the traction-rope 1,which is actuated by a drum 2', the fall-rope tensionrope H, which is actuated by a drum h, and the fall-rope G, which is actuated by a drum g. The traction-rope and the fall-rope tension-rope are substantially endless ropes and extend between the head and tail supports A and B and over suitable pulleys or sheaves upon said supports. The traction-rope is connected with the carriage O in the usual or any desired manner, its function and Serial No. 54.057. (No model.)

method of operation being that of the usual traction-rope. A separate trackway or supporting-cable may be added to the above when desired, or the carriage may be supported entirely upon the other ropes. The carriage has one or more sets of wheels, such as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, which are engaged one by the fall-rope and one by the fall-rope tension-rope. Any arrangement by which these ropes may be made to engage these wheels with suflicient friction may be used. In Fig. l I have shown two sets of these wheels 61 and d, located so that the ropes traverse a zigzag course in passing about them, and thus increase their frictional grip thereon. The same result might be obtained by passing the ropes one or more times about their wheels. The wheel D carries the hoist or fall rope G and the wheel E the tension-rope H. These two wheels are connected by friction devices of such nature that when one is caused to turn it tends to turn the other with it; but when the resistance to turning of the driven wheel rises above the grip of the friction device between them the driven wheel lags behind the driving-wheel. The means herein shown for connecting these two wheels or sheaves consists in journaling them upon a common shaft K and providing them with engaging friction surfaces or plates F, the two sheaves being held together by means of a spring J, the strength of which is so proportioned or adjusted as to produce the pressure which will give the required grip between the friction surfaces. Preferably the tensionrope sheave Eis given aslight excess of speed over the fall-rope sheave D, so that it may be occurs in the fall-rope. This may be done either by increasing the peripheral speed of the drum h, which carries the fall-rope, or by making the diameter of the sheave E less than that of the sheave D. I have herein shown the sheaves E and D of the same size and the drum h as larger than the drum g.

In operating my device when there is a load upon the fall-rope the weight thereof is sufficient to overcome the friction between the two sheaves D and E, and the fall-rope is kept taut by the load in whichever direction the ropes are being operated. When there is no load upon the fall-rope and the carriage is travpossible to promptly take up any slack which ersed away from the head-support or when the ropes are operated to lower the fall-block, an equal rotative speed of the drums g and h, constructed as herein shown, will give an excess speed to the sheave E and by its frictional engagement with the sheave D will produce sufficient tension on the fall-rope to support that part of the rope between the carriage and the head-support and to positively lower the fall-block G. When the carriage is traversed in the other direction or the fallblock is raised with no load upon it, the fallrope may be caused to sag between the carriage and the head-support; but this sag under such circumstances produces no inconvenience, and it may at any time be taken up by hoisting the fall-block to the carriage and continuing the operation of the hoist-drum g or of both drums h and g. The drums h and g may be fixedly connected or separated, so that they may be operated atdifferent speeds. The simplest construction and the one which would in most cases be preferred is that in which they are made as sections of the same drum.

One set only of the sheaves D and E may be used, in which case it is desirable that the ropes G and H be passed about them a suflicient number of times to secure the necessary frictional grip between the ropes and their sheaves.

While I have stated that I prefer to give the sheave carrying the fall-rope tensionrope a speed slightly in excess of that of the sheave carrying the fall-rope, I do not wish to be limited to this construction, as my device may be operated when the sheaves are given the same speed.

Having thus fully described my invention, Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a hoisting device, the combination with a fall-rope,a fall-rope tension-rope,separate sheaves for said ropes, and a frictional connection between said sheaves.

2. In a hoisting device, the combination with a fall-rope, afall-rope tension-rope, and separate sheaves for said ropes, having contacting surfaces and means for pressing said surfaces together.

3. In a hoisting device, the combination with a fall-rope, a fall-rope tension-rope,separate sheaves for said ropes, having contacting surfaces, and a spring holding said surfaces in contact.

4. In a conveyer, the combination with a fall-rope, a fall-rope tension-rope, and means for operating said ropes, of a carriage and separate frictionally-engaging sheaves upon the carriage for each of said ropes.

5. In a conveyer, the combination with the carriage, means for operating the carriage, a fallrope, and a fall-rope sheave upon the carriage, of a tension member having frictional driving connection with the fall-rope sheave, and means for turning said tension member independently of the fall-rope sheave.

6. In a conveyer, the combination with the carriage, means for operating the carriage, a fall-rope, and a fall-rope sheave upon the carriage, of a tension-sheave having a frictional driving connection with the fall-rope sheave,

and a tension-rope engaging saidtensionsheave to turn it at a speed exceeding that of the fall-rope sheave.

7. In a conveyer, the combination with a carriage, a traction-rope therefor, a fall-rope, a fall-rope tension-rope, and means for operating said ropes, of separate sheaves for the fall-rope and the fall rope tension rope, mounted upon the carriage to turn about a common axis and having a frictional driving contact with each other, and means whereby the rotative speed of the sheave receiving the fall-rope tension rope exceeds that of the sheave receiving the fall-rope.

THOMAS SPENCER MILLER.

Witnesses:

H. L. REYNOLDS, W. A. PAULING. 

